Jar of hearts
by Fangirldown
Summary: Enoch slowly comes to terms with the death of his older sister.


It was hard to keep track of days when you were in a loop, but Enoch made sure the day Miss Peregrine made it that he wouldn't miss a single one. Now while he was tired of doing the same thing everyday at the same time so as not to disrupt the loop, he was thankful they could consume his mind even if it was just for a little while. On the off chance he found himself in his workshop, his eyes couldn't help but wander to the handmade calendar hung just over his left shoulder; it looked like something one of the younger children had made.

The door was slightly ajar, allowing Olive the element of surprise as she walked in, holding the one thing she knew would cheer him up the slightest bit. "Thought you might like some company." she stated causing Enoch to jerk his head back around, startled by her ability to always sneak up on him. He was about to chastise her when he noticed the puppet she held snug to her chest and a small smile of gratitude graced his lips even though the sight of it made his chest ache. "Mr. Patches." he whispered as she set him on the work table in front of Enoch. He lightly stroked the stiff, cat-like puppet before pushing his chair back and standing, heading directly to the giant bookshelf that kept over 100 jars and a special lock box.

He reached down to his waist, pulling a key from a compartment he built into his belt buckle before reaching for the box. He pulled it from the shelf with shaking hands, it's contents more valuable than anything he could ever own in this life or the next, before he made his way back to his work station and placed the box carefully down next to the cat. It wasn't the most beautiful thing in the world, it was mostly bald with random patches of fur here and there, but it was who made it that made it so special to him. Once the box was opened he pulled out a tiny jar containing the heart that would animate Mr. Patches once again.

Once a year for about a week Mr. Patches lived like a real cat, even though at one point he was around all the time. "Well? what are you waiting for?" Olive encouraged him, breaking the slight trance he fixated on the jar and prompting him to open it, allowing it to drop into his palm with a slight thud before placing it within the chest cavity. The result was instant, Mr. Patches purring to life and going directly for Enoch, placing his balding head against his palm as he begged for affection. Enoch gladly complied as Olive gave him a light scratching at the base of his bony tail. "I miss having him around, he always brought smiles to the kids." Olive stated softly, the circumstances of how he came into Enoch's possession was a sensitive subject for him and the last thing she wanted to do at this point was upset him further.

There was no hiding the way his atoms apple bobbed as he swallowed, no way to mask the tremble of his lips as he tried to keep from breaking down, and there certainly was no way he could stop the watering of his eyes. "He was Fae's favourite invention because of that, the way he brought joy to people no matter how subtle it was." His voice trembled as he spoke, "she always told me to make at least 1 person smile a day, and that there was always a good feeling that followed. I wish I could go back and make her smile instead of being a burden." now his lower lip trembled, his composure failing quickly as salty tears lined his vision, ready to fall at any given second.

Olive listened to him regardless of how many times he's told her about Fae's little sayings. "She loved you, Enoch, more than anything in this entire world." she tried to comfort him, knowing how he carried the burden and guilt of not having been a better person, a better brother, to and for her. "I let her down, Olive. Time and time again I let her down. I did and said things to hurt her, I disappointed her over and over again, I did whatever I could in my power to spite her. She must have hated me." by now he had no control over his emotions, his tears falling like rain in a thunderstorm. Olive was by his side in an instant, her arms wrapping around and pulling him to her in an embrace.

"There was absolutely nothing you could have done to make her hate you, she practically raised you for heaven sake, it was only natural you two would butt-heads every now and again." she said soothingly, doing her best to console him. Enoch pulled away, his grief taking absolute control. "She wouldn't be dead now because of me!" he yelled, the cat that had been watching helplessly on the sidelines from the table became skittish and bolted. Even Olive found herself flinching away from him. Miss Peregrine, having heard his grief stricken outburst, peered into the workshop, "Enoch is everything alright?" she asked calmly, knowing the fragile yet volatile nature Enoch had around the anniversary of his sisters death.

"No," he sobbed, his palms hitting the wooden tabletop with a thud as he hunched over with his head low to hide his face from the 2 women. Miss Peregrine reached reached into the opening of hidden pocket on her dress, producing a skeleton key that she placed on the table in front of him upon entering the room. "Go." was all she said when he looked up at her. He hesitated a mere moment before grabbing the second, larger jar from the safe in one hand and the key in the other before leaving the room briskly and without question.

"Will he be alright?" Olive asked Miss Peregrine, both of them staring at the door. "No," she replied, much to Olive's dismay, but quickly followed with "but he is getting better."

The stairs creaked under the weight of Enoch's slow footsteps, Mr. Patches having found his way to the door first and scratching at it as he approached. Once he saw Enoch though, he let out a long meow, staring at him as if to tell him to hurry up and open to door. With shaking fingers he managed to insert the key, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, and turning it until he heard the audible slide of the lock back into the handle. Now he was still, looking at the solid oak door so helpless he wasn't sure if he would be able to open it at all. The cat meowed again, urging him to open the door once again and this time he complied fully, turning the knob and pushing the door open just enough for Mr. Patches to squeeze into the room first.

Despite the look of the aged door, the room beyond it was pristine with everything clean and in it's place; specifically Fae. He stared at his sisters body, his feet suddenly unable to take him in further as the guilt seemed to cement him in place. The cat, however, had made itself at home by curling up next to her and for the briefest moment he pretended that she was sleeping and that allowed him to move to the chair beside her bed. "It's been a while, Fae," he whispered, placing the jar that contained her heart on the nightstand next to her bed. The only thing he ever gave the loop credit for when it came to this was that his sister never decayed, she stayed exactly as she was the day she was killed by the Hollow. He opened the jar and held her heart gently in his hand, tears and memories flooding him like water through a broken dam as he held it over her chest.

 _On that day it was him, Millard, Victor and Bronwyn. They knew they weren't supposed to be playing near the cliff, knew about the dangers, but Enoch didn't care. He lured the other three over with him, the 4 of them exploring around the area. He knew Fae would be angry with him and that she would yell and discipline him terribly for it, little did he know he would be giving the ultimate punishment to himself. She loved flowers and he figured that he would be able to soften her up by picking some of the beautiful wild flowers that grew closest to the edge, Victor unfortunately followed him._

 _"Enoch, Millard, Bronwyn and Victor!" the scolding tone came from none other than Fae. "Get away from there!" she yelled, making haste towards the children through the tall and unkempt grass along that side of the house. Suddenly Victor was hoisted into the air, screaming. The other 3 stared in complete shock, time seemingly frozen in the moment before the horrid scene broke out on front of them. "Run!" Fae screamed, running towards the young children. Enoch had no doubt in his mind she was going to try and save Victor but it was already too late. His eyes were ripped from their socket and devoured by the seemingly invisible creature mere feet from him, Victors lifeless body tossed to the side like a sack of potatoes._

 _Blood coated it's chin, the only thing letting them know where it was and where it was going. Enoch just happened to be it's next target. He began to run, Fae's fear filled face burned into his mind as she rushed towards him. His foot ended up getting caught in a hole on the uneven ground causing him to trip. Victors blood dripped from the Hollow as it loomed above him and Enoch was certain that he was next to die._

 _"Hey!" Fae shouted sternly, hurling a nicely sized rock she picked up from the ground towards the red stain that seemed to float in the air. "Get away from my brother." The rock had made contact with something, looking as though it had smashed into a wall before falling straight down next to Enoch, the Hollow now moving angrily in Fae's direction. She ran closer to the edge, keeping it away from Enoch and the house where Bronwyn and Millard managed to make it safely. "Fae no!" Enoch hollered. Her luck had run out. The Hollow swept her into the air, Enoch watching as she struggled against the invisible hand. Now Miss Peregrine was the one running towards them, crossbow in hand._

 _She managed to lock onto it, firing her arrow in hopes it would pierce the beast before she lost another one of her children. Enoch watched in horror as Fae's eyes were torn from their sockets, watched her body go limp, watched the arrow hit it's target seconds too late, then watched as her body hit the ground with a sickening thud. Yet all he could do was lay there on the grass, his mind too stunned to even begin to process what had just happened, of who he just lost. When it finally did hit him it was like a cement truck going 150 mph. He thrashed, he screamed, he cried; he was completely inconsolable. On that day Miss Peregrine lost 2 of her beloved children, but Enoch lost his entire world._

 _After that day Miss Peregrine used to keep both Victor and Fae's body together in a room on the second floor, but Enoch's repeated attempts to try and bring his sister back to life forced her to move her to a locked room in the attic._

Finally breaking his trance on the still, cold heart of his sister, he looked at her; really looked at her, and she looked at peace. Usually he would place her heart within her, allow her body to animate but all that would happen was Enoch getting a slight scolding before she broke out into the last scream he ever heard from her followed by black tears once he forced the heart from within her.

Surprising himself, he placed her heart back in it's jar, opting instead to hold her hand. It was cold and he had to close his eyes and take a moment to get himself under control. He spent so much time grieving that he forgot the one thing his sister wanted for him the most; to smile and be happy. Their relationship wasn't always fighting, it was sneaking extra bowls of ice cream together, Fae plunging him into a fantasy world when she read, it was kisses on his forehead before bed and listening to him when he needed someone to talk to. It was forgiveness, understanding and love. But most of all it was sacrifice.

"I'm sorry, I love you." he whispered, leaning over and placing his lips to her forehead and he swears to this day that when he pulled away there was the smallest etch of a smile on her face. "Come on Mr. Patches." he said to the cat, picking up the jar and key as he headed towards the door. "Lot's of people will be glad to see you." he smiled as the cat followed behind him. With one last glance at Fae, he closed the giant oak door, placed the key in socket and clicked the lock back into place.


End file.
